Supplementary Retirement Scheme

Pay less income tax while saving for the future with the Supplementary Retirement Scheme (SRS).

Supplementary Retirement Scheme (SRS) is a savings scheme to help save for your retirement. Contributions to SRS are eligible for tax relief and you can use the SRS funds to buy insurance and investment products to grow your money.

Why should you have an SRS account?

Reduce your taxable income with your dollar for dollar contributions.

Enjoy tax-free investment gains made through SRS funds.

50% of your accumulated SRS savings will not be taxed upon retirement age withdrawal.

In short, an excellent tool to save for your retirement while enjoying tax savings!

Please follow the following steps to apply for your SRS account:

Step 1: Check your eligibility

You are a Singaporean, Permanent Resident (PR) or foreigner who is at least 18 years old and not an undischarged bankrupt.

You don't have an existing SRS account with another bank.

You don't have any pending SRS account opening application with another bank.

Step 2: Apply for your SRS Account online

If you are a DBS/POSB Savings or Current account customer with iBanking, you can open a SRS account within minutes.

If you are new to DBS/POSB or prefer to discuss more about the Supplementary Retirement Scheme (SRS), please visit any DBS/POSB branch to open an SRS account with your identity card or passport. For foreigners, please bring along your passport and the relevant pass issued by the Immigration and Checkpoint Authority of Singapore.

You can do so via iBanking or at the branch. The maximum that you can contribute to your SRS account is:

S$15,300 per year for Singaporeans and PRs

S$35,700 per year for foreigners

The amount that you contribute will reduce your taxable income with your dollar for dollar contributions. You do not need to make a claim in your tax return as it will be allowed automatically based on information provided by us to IRAS.

For SRS contribution to be eligible for tax relief in the following year, the contribution via iBanking or mBanking must be completed by 1900hrs on the last working day of December.

Personal Income Tax Relief CapPersonal income tax relief cap of S$80,000 will apply from Year of Assessment 2018 to SRS contributions made on or after 1 Jan 2017. This cap applies to the total amount of all tax reliefs claimed, including any relief on SRS contributions.

Step 4: Consider how to maximise your SRS funds

This is the last and most important step. You should consider whether you should leave the SRS funds in cash or look into investing the funds in an approved list of insurance and investment products.

The proceeds from your SRS investments will return to your SRS account. Given that SRS is for retirement purposes, it is advisable to look at SRS as a longer-term investment vehicle.

Compare the following on why you should consider maximising your SRS funds:

If you have a sum of $15,300 in your SRS account; earning an interest of 0.05% p.a., you will receive $15,453.76 at the end of the 20 years.

Given the same amount of $15,300, if the return is 4% p.a. over 20 years, you would receive $34,005.51. That's double the amount over a 20-year period!

Withdrawal before retirement age

If you make a withdrawal before the retirement age of 62, 100% of the sum withdrawn will be subject to income tax. You will also face a 5% penalty for premature withdrawal.

Withdrawal at or after retirement age

SRS members can make penalty-free withdrawals as long as their withdrawals are at or after the statutory retirement age prevailing at the time of your first SRS withdrawal. 50% of the withdrawals will be subject to income tax.

At the end of the ten-year withdrawal period, if there is still money or investment remaining in your SRS account, 50% of it will be subject to income tax.

* Income tax savings based on the assumption that a married male Singapore Citizen has an annual income of S$102,000 in 2015 and enjoys total personal tax relief of S$31,500 (Earned Income Relief of S$1,000, CPF Relief of S$17,000, NSman Self Relief of S$5,000, Qualifying Child Relief of S$4,000 and Parent Relief of S$4,500) and SRS relief of S$15,300 for the Year of Assessment 2016.

The interest rate on balances in the SRS Account which are not invested is currently at 0.050% p.a. as of October 2012.

Why should I contribute to the Supplementary Retirement Scheme (SRS)?

Besides having extra savings for your retirement, you will also enjoy tax benefits. SRS contributions entitle you to tax reliefs, as each dollar that you save in your SRS account will reduce your chargeable income by a dollar subject to an annual cap. The current cap is S$15,300 for Singaporeans and Singapore Permanent Residents and S$35,700 for foreigners.

Would I be paying a lot of tax when I retire since SRS withdrawals are subject to tax?

No, only 50% of your withdrawals are subject to tax. Furthermore, you are allowed to spread out your withdrawals over a period of time. Having lower or nominal income at retirement, you may end up paying little or no income tax.

Can I view my SRS account balances online?

Yes, you can view the following information on your SRS account on iBanking:

Maximum contribution amount

Total contribution made to date

Balance contribution limit

Cash balance

How can I transfer my SRS account from another bank to DBS?

You can visit any of our branches to complete and sign the following forms:

SRS Account Transfer form

SRS Account Application form

SRS Annual Declaration form (Applicable to foreigners only)

Where can I find out more information on my shares corporate action event for my SRS account?

Information on shares corporate action event, can be found in the SGX website. Refer to Company Announcements, under Company Information.

My shares in the SRS account has a stock split event, when will the shares be credited to my SRS account?

The "security credit date" information can be found in the SGX website. Refer to Company Announcements, under Company Information.

Deposit Insurance Scheme

Singapore dollar deposits of non-bank depositors and monies and deposits denominated in Singapore dollars under the Supplementary Retirement Scheme are insured by the Singapore Deposit Insurance Corporation, for up to SGD50,000 in aggregate per depositor per Scheme member by law. Foreign currency deposits, dual currency investments, structured deposits and other investment products are not insured.